1095 Shrubs

Plumbago (both blue and white flowering varieities).

I planted a couple of those last year, but, think they've gone... very nice though, a pale blue.

[QUOTE=GeorgeS]I planted a couple of those last year, but, think they've gone... very nice though, a pale blue.[/QUOTE]

We planted them along the fence of our house back in the Cape. They straggled along for years before we got annoyed with them and cut them down to the ground - after that they took off and grew nearly four foot high with a similar diameter in just under two years.

Bourgainvilla and lots of rampicaniti with loads of flowers which we have planted all along front fence...can't wait for next year when they have 'rampicantied' :rolleyes:

One of my favourite shrubs is the spiraea goldflame. A must for any garden. Lovely golden leaves with purple flowers.

Put one of these in front of a butterfly bush, it could look quite striking.

David

Sano, I wonder if the winter "did for them" this year, although the bit of garden I planted up is very neglected at present, been concentrating on the inside, garden to start in Autumn.
Jan, what a lovely idea, will give it a go, thanks
A&L, Ohh yes, they should look lovely, need to clear away / use a load of bricks on the south east corner of the house ready for them

we've got a very rocky bit of garden( quite a large area actually) between main bit and olive grove...can't really dig it as rocks embedded in ground ( a lot of that round here)..any suggestions what i can put in there which will come out year after year as ground not easy to work......i thought of lavender ...a great swathe of blue/purple ( how poetic !!)...and perhaps marghurite daisies...any ideas gratefully received...... :confused:

Lavender, grape hyacinths where you can squeeze them in, Thyme to tumble. looking in rock gardening books... (Bot, mentioned books again...)
Here's a nice site for ideas [url]http://www.margheriti.it/main_en.htm[/url]
some of my favourites for your rocky bit, Marjoram (oreganum), Sage (salvia), Rue (ruta graveolens), sedum species, Sempervivums,fritillaria spec.,
primula vulgaris, eryngium alpinum,The campanula family, Pasque flower (pulsatilla vulgaris),Viola's, ohh, and, my interesting one, Stachys byzantina (lambs ears). That should keep you going for a weekend... :D

[QUOTE=alex and lyn]we've got a very rocky bit of garden( quite a large area actually) between main bit and olive grove...can't really dig it as rocks embedded in ground ( a lot of that round here)..any suggestions what i can put in there which will come out year after year as ground not easy to work......i thought of lavender ...a great swathe of blue/purple ( how poetic !!)...and perhaps marghurite daisies...any ideas gratefully received...... :confused:[/QUOTE]

If you want something edible figs seem to thrive in rocky soil. The more their roots need to fight the better they seem to crop.

Also, if you have rocky, dry soil with a good clay content you could always grow roses, who also love this kind of soil composition. Succulents would be another option.

thanks George and Sano.....i expect I can't plant any of these till spring can I ???

Love the roses idea...didn't know they would work in that kind of soil....they were a bit of a pain in UK but I love them...any particular varieties ????

George, you're a star ...I'll print off your list......

sano...i know I'm thick but what exactlyare succulents ???...already have some fig trees in that bit...but thanks for suggestion.

Lastly....there isn't anything about bottling my zucchinis in your books ???????( OOOOPS !) ..have you noticed..not one reply to either post...AND i have done a search on Zucchini....nothing about bottling !!!! BUT, I bought some the other day so someone, somewhere knows how to do it !!!!!
i just want to know if I need to sun-dry them first...then I'll bung in whatever I think !!!!......should be appetising !! :eek:

sedums and sempervivum are succulents, also, I suspect that you could try something a lot more exotic in your neck of the woods, some of the cacti perhaps, most of the plants i suggested will spread out and divide easily BTW. you could probably plant most on my list in Autumn, and roses too, not a rose person myself though, too much bother, prefer to plant em and then enjoy em.

We've found that Spanish Lavender and Mexican Heather make wonderful, easy low maintenance, colorful bushes for planting in a mediterranean type climate.
They go very well with the Butterfly Bush, as they all have lavender in common.

There is a nice ground cover that can withstand the heat and cold, it spreads, and it has a pretty lavender/blue flower. It's called Australian Violets, but it actually looks more like a tiny viola and its leaves look like tiny geranium leaves.

Fellow gardener,
Dee